This coffee and espresso machine from Miele is designed for ultimate convenience. Its control panel lets you choose from a variety of popular espresso drinks, and it can also be used to brew a pot of your favorite coffee. There’s even a built-in grinder with five settings so you get freshly ground beans every time. You can adjust the coffee strength based on your personal tastes and even create four “user profiles” based on your preferences. Finally, the machine includes a hot water spout so you can quickly make a cup of tea — no kettle required.
The OXO On 12-Cup feels high-tech without being high maintenance. It’s beautifully constructed, with silicone gaskets, a stainless steel carafe, and sturdy-feeling plastic. But let’s go ahead and get its biggest downside right out there in the open. Of the 10 machines we tested, it took the longest to brew eight cups of coffee — nearly 15 minutes. It heats its entire reservoir of water to temperature before a drop touches the grounds, and if you’re jonesing for a full pot to start off your day, that wait is going to feel like a lifetime. This was particularly noticeable considering four of the machines we tested brewed the same amount of coffee in less than half that time. The Bunn BTX-B Velocity Brew could do it in three minutes flat.

We’re the largest online retailer of espresso machines and it’s no secret why. We love coffee. We love that first sip in the morning, the one that you’ve got to fight to get to your mouth because 8 hours of sleep seems like a pipe dream. We love that rush, when the caffeine kicks in and you know that you’ve got the day in the palm of your hand. We love the art – brewing, roasting, tasting – and the journey that each coffee drinker takes in search of their perfect joe. We’ve been sharing that love with the world since 1997 and we hope you’ll pull up a cup and join us in celebration of nature’s most perfect beverage, coffee!

“Last night was a perfect test of the single-cup concept. I had already programmed and prepped my 3 a.m. standard coffee brew, however, I still wanted a cup of coffee. I switched over to the single cup and brewed my cup, then switched back and pressed the program button to ensure it would still brew the main pot at 3 a.m. Worked like a charm!! Before, I would have had to brew the entire eight cups that were ready, toss out most of it, and set up my morning brew all over again.”

Drip-style coffee makers already have a bit of a flavor handicap when compared with other brewing methods, like pour-over and French press, which give coffee drinkers ultimate control over every aspect of the brewing (and therefore extraction) process. This makes it even more important to select a high-quality coffee bean for your at-home drip coffee maker. To learn more, we spoke with Saadat Awan at Woodcat Coffee in Los Angeles.
Let’s circle back to that extra-long brew time. There are two factors that didn’t make it an automatic “no” for us. The first is that the OXO On 12-Cup is programmable. Like our experts say, grinding coffee in advance isn’t going to make the most perfect cup of coffee. But the fact that you can program the machine’s “wake-up time” to start brewing and have coffee ready when you are takes the sting out of the wait.

Brewing coffee has never been easier with this Black & Decker 12-Cup Switch Coffee maker. With the switch of a button, you’re coffee will start brewing into the reinforced glass Duralife™ carafe with a comfort grip handle. Grab a cup of coffee on the go with the Sneak-A-Cup™ feature, otherwise your coffee will be ready when you are with the Keep Warm carafe nonstick carafe plate.

The Hamilton Beach 12-Cup BrewStation coffee maker offers convenient one-hand dispensing without a conventional glass carafe. There's no pouring or spills, and nothing fragile to break and replace. No matter how much you try, it’s impossible to get freshly brewed flavor from coffee that’s been sitting on a hot plate too long. That’s why the Hamilton Beach BrewStation was created, the only coffeemaker that keeps coffee tasting fresh for up to four hours. This best-selling coffee maker...
If you’re shopping for coffee at the grocery store, “check the roast date, rather than the ‘best by’ date,” says Awan. With mass market roasters, the “best by” date can obfuscate the window in which coffee beans are at their best: about 4 days after roasting, when some, but not all, of the carbon dioxide has escaped from the beans. (Too much carbon dioxide captured within beans tends to create uneven extraction, as the gas escapes — this is what pre-infusing tries to counter. Conversely, too little carbon dioxide in the bean can lead to a loss of flavor.)
Tired of dropping $6 a day for your daily caffeine fix at the local coffee shop? Invest in the right combination coffee and espresso machine and you can be your own barista. With the right machine on your kitchen countertop, you can pull a rich shot of espresso for a quick hit on your way to the office or brew an entire pot of coffee for lazy Sunday mornings with the crossword puzzle. Which combination coffee and espresso machine is right for your kitchen? We checked out the latest offerings on the market, so you can have the perfect cup of joe anytime.
“This is simply an amazing machine. I have had NO trouble with it whatsoever. … The quality of the espresso is better than what I get out of the coffee shops — using their beans. It took me a long time to tune in the perfect cup of espresso/latte/cappuccino, and there are variables, but mostly in the beans you buy. I had to buy a decent burr grinder, but considering the investment in the machine, another $150 for a good burr grinder is nothing. I only run filtered water through the machine. I love this machine. I have poured over 2,500 shots through it. Not a single problem with the machine. Many mistakes by the operator, but I will take my espresso out of this machine before any store bought cup-o-Joe.”
Bunn-O-Matic came out with a different drip-brew machine. In this type of coffeemaker, the machine uses a holding tank or boiler pre-filled with water. When the machine is turned on, all of the water in the holding tank is brought to near boiling point (approximately 200–207 °F or 93–97 °C) using a thermostatically-controlled heating element. When water is poured into a top-mounted tray, it descends into a funnel and tube which delivers the cold water to the bottom of the boiler. The less-dense hot water in the boiler is displaced out of the tank and into a tube leading to the spray head, where it drips into a brew basket containing the ground coffee. The pourover, water displacement method of coffeemaking tends to produce brewed coffee at a much faster rate than standard drip designs. Its primary disadvantage is increased electricity consumption in order to preheat the water in the boiler. Additionally, the water displacement method is most efficient when used to brew coffee at the machine's maximum or near-maximum capacity, as typically found in restaurant or office usage. In 1963, Bunn introduced the first automatic coffee brewer, which connected to a waterline for an automatic water feed.
A new French press is an ideal companion on a camping trip or picnic. Our sturdy versions of French presses are available in glass, metal, ceramic and other materials. Invest in your own efficient single-cup brewers with included cups and thermal mugs to create on-the-go coffee drinks for one person. Cold-brew machines and kits are other terrific options when you prefer chilled and iced coffee beverages. Remember to order plenty of filters, tampers, descaling tabs and other coffee accessories to keep your machine fresh and bright. Clean machines with the right size filters brew the best coffee